Attracting talent: understanding your Employer Value Proposition (EVP)

Post Covid, the landscape has changed when it comes to attracting talent. The number one focus traditionally for job seekers pre-Covid was salary advancement. Things have changed. In post-pandemic times, flexibility and hybrid working, learning opportunities and progression are now the top 3 most valued criteria for candidates seeking out a new position.

To hire the best candidates in the market and attract the right talent for your business, you have to know what makes your company unique and appealing. Rest assured, you don’t need to have a pool table, office bar, hybrid working, and quarterly team holidays to attract the best talent. But you do need to articulate what is great about working for you.

Know your Employer Value Proposition – What makes your business a great place to work?
As much as candidates are selling themselves to you, you also need to be ready to sell your company to them. An EVP is a list of components that make your company attractive. These generally fall into five categories (in no particular order):

• Financial rewards (salary, bonuses, options, etc)
• Employment benefits (additional leave, salary packaging, gym memberships, etc)
• Career development (training and development opportunities, internal progression)
• Work environment (flexible working, hybrid arrangements)
• Company culture (collaborative team environment, great internal communication)

How to demonstrate your EVP

There are some elements of your EVP that will be easier to demonstrate; particularly the financial rewards and employment benefits. You can talk through these with candidates and provide information prepared by yourself or your HR team. There are actions you can take which will help demonstrate the less definable parts of your EVP and show your great team culture. This will get candidates excited about joining your team:

- Have a slick hiring process in place

A long drawn-out hiring process will reflect poorly on how you operate. Ensure a well-mapped out timetable and a process whereby feedback is passed between stakeholders involved in the interviews.

- Interviews are no longer ‘grillings’

Create a warm and inviting interview environment to get the most out of your meeting. The days of interviews being an interrogation are long gone and talent will run a mile if you take this approach.

- Have an attractive Job description

Ensure you have a detailed job description, not just a list of tasks that have been put together on a Word document. If you need help putting together a JD- please find our Job description template here. A great job description will have details about your company, values, the position, and required skills/qualifications. This creates a good first impression and ensures candidates reading your job description will have a clear baseline to gain an understanding of your role, research/prepare appropriately, and can eliminate anyone who does not have the required skill set.

Common candidate questions

Be ready to answer questions from job seekers such as:

• “Do you offer any flexibility to work from home?”
• “What are the best things about working for your company?”
• “If successful, where can I expect to be in 3-5 years' time?”

The key to success is an accurate representation

Be honest with your potential new hire. If successful, your new hire will discover the challenges and benefits of working for you anyway. It is best to align expectations from the get-go. Explain the benefits and challenges of working for your company.

An important factor to remember when hiring is to make talent aware of challenges they may face, whether this be your system isn’t as streamlined as it could be or there is a backlog of invoices due to a staff shortage.

This does not have to be a negative aspect. Some candidates will view it as attractive as it will provide the opportunity for them to make an impact and effect change.

Hiring talent doesn’t have to be as gruelling and time-consuming as you might think. By following this guideline and our hiring manager toolkit will help you streamline the process, and you will be onboarding your next great hire in no time.

Checklist – Your EVP

Now that you are ready to define your EVP, you can use this checklist to be clear on what you offer to candidates. Be sure to mention these during your recruitment process. This will show candidates that you are committed to your company being a great place to work. This is not an exhaustive list however having your EVPs ready to communicate will help you answer the ever-looming question in today's market, “What are the benefits of working for your company?”

• Hybrid working arrangements
• Values that the business lives and breathes
• Philanthropic efforts
• Bonus schemes
• Team building events
• Family-friendly – i.e. supportive of child pick up and/or drop off duties
• Modern offices
• Up-to-date software/technologies
• Fresh fruit each week
• The kitchen is stocked with cereals, a coffee machine, etc., for staff to enjoy
• Located close to public transport links
• Parking spot provided
• Regular training sessions
• Social club
• Sports team, yoga, etc.
• Birthdays celebrated
• Extra leave days for every year worked
• Study support for professional qualifications
• Professional memberships paid for or contributed towards
• Phone allowance
• Laptop
• Mapped out career progression route

Recruiting can be hard work and we are well-placed to assist you with finding your next accounting hire. For more information or to discuss this article, get in touch with one of our helpful recruitment experts.